International Eco Camp 2014

INTERNATIONAL ECO CAMP 2014

October 2 – 7, 2014 WELCOME PACK

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

Welcome to Eco Camp 2014 – a part of the project “Green Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development”! We hope this will be a wonderful adventure for all of you; you will have great fun, make many new friends, and develop new skills to be responsible green entrepreneurs. Congratulations to those of you who showed perseverance, diligence and deep interest in the topic of sustainable business and qualified to be part of the Eco Camp 2014. The teams of Junior Achievement Bulgaria and Young Enterprise Sogn og Fjordane are making a great effort to put together an exciting program. Here’s what you can expect!

Place of Eco Camp 2014: Momchilovtsi village in Bulgaria

Momchilovtsi is located in the Central Rhodopes mountains, about 15 km northeast of Smolyan. If you want to make a gift to the soul and experience the beauty of Bulgarian nature, you have to visit Momchilovtsi. Staying in Momchilovtsi you can try traditional Rhodope cuisine: “patatnik”, “marudnik”, “klin”, sheep’s cheese, wild berries jam, all of them prepared with workmanship. You can listen to the Bulgarian bagpipe and the marvelous, unfathomable, unforgettable Rhodopian authentic folk songs. It even has its own humorous folk song “Tornal e Todyo” written by two villagers who are still alive and live in Momchilovtsi.

The village is named after Momchil Yunak – the last Christian ruler in the Middle Ages and a defender of indigenous people from the Turkish invaders in the XIV century. Today, there are more than 20 chapels around the village – they are “guardians” of Momchilovtsi. During the whole Eco Camp, we strongly encourage you to explore the village and talk to people as much as possible – they are very open to people coming from other places.

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

Venue of Eco Camp 2014: SAVE Center – Norway House (Det Norske Hus) in Momchilovtsi

The old school of the village was recently renovated through a project financed by the Government of Norway. Experts from Sogn og Fjordane region in Norway helped during the restoration works. The mission of the SAVE Center is to promote in Bulgaria innovative policies for sustainable development and the Norwegian experience in responsible attitude towards the planet’s resources. The venue has:  Academic section: three seminar halls with 60 seats, 20 seats and 12 seats respectively.  Hotel section: accommodation of max. 26 people in two-room blocks (two or three beds), common WC premise, living room with TV, kitchen box and dining hall for 30 people on the first floor. Free wi-fi Internet is available all over the place.

Accommodation:

All students and staff will be accommodated in the Norway House (26 people) and guesthouses nearby.

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

Food:

Students who sleep in the Norway House will eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there. Students who sleep in guesthouses will eat breakfast at the respective house and lunch and dinner in the Norway House. Important things to bring with you:

- Come to the Eco Camp prepared with a photo of one amazing natural place in the world you have been to - Slippers / flip-flops for the house (you cannot walk in the Norway House with shoes) - Warm clothes (it could be quite cold in the beginning of October in Rhodopes mountains) - Tablet/laptop - Hiking shoes or shoes suitable for walking in the mountain - Raincoat or umbrella

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

ECO CAMP 2014 Agenda October 1

Norwegian group arrives at Sofia Airport | Transfer to Hemus Hotel | Quick dinner in nearby pizza restaurant

October 2

Breakfast | Walking tour in Sofia (Bulgarian students can join here) | Departure for Momchilovtsi from Alexander Nevski (Bulgarian students travelling from Sofia must join here the latest) | Arrival in Plovdiv and short break (Bulgarian students travelling from Plovdiv must join here) | Arrival in Momchilovtsi at the Norwegian House | Official opening of the Eco Camp 2014 | Dinner

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aleksandar- nevski15.jpg October 3

The treasure hunt will be an exceptional team building and team spirit competition. It will test both your physical, as well as intellectual abilities. You will only have a small set of initial instructions and you will have to find your way through the village and the tasks we have prepared for you in order to be the first to find the treasure!

Source: www.trentstudents.org

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

October 4

Breakfast | Visit to Agricultural and Stockbreeding Experimental Station Smolyan – small boutique producer of ecologically clean dairy products (milk, yoghurt, butter) | Walk along “Nevyastata“ Eco Trail and picnic for lunch | Visit to the shop “Zelen“ – a shop for bio products in Smolyan and talk with the owner | Dinner | International evening

The Agricultural and Stockbreeding Experimental Station is located in the outskirts of Smolyan in the center of the Rhodopes Mountain at an average altitude of about 1000m above the sea level. It was founded as a State Experimental Cattle Ranch in 1928 under a directive of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The major goal of the ranch was to conduct research and work on the improvement of the local Rhodopes breed of shorthorn cattle. This laid the foundation for research on high altitude (upland/mountain) agriculture and stockbreeding in the area. To improve the local cattle breed, Jersey cattle were introduced in the region in 1958. The newly developed and much improved race of Bulgarian Rhodopes Cattle, Rhodopes Jersey, was officially recognized in 1989. Today, the station has a specialized laboratory conducting tests of forage, diary and bee products. Priority for future research will be given to preservation and maintenance of the valuable local races of cattle, sheep and bees, their future improvement, and production of quality breeding material. Alongside its numerous research activities, the station also operates a small-scale production facility for milk, yoghurt and butter. You will be able to look at the production spaces and witness the production process; you will also be able to see the herds of cattle that graze nearby.

Bio shop “Zelen” is a chain of organic stores in Bulgaria that sell both locally produced, as well as imported organic foods and other goods. A few months ago, such a shop was opened in Smolyan as well. Its owners are young and energetic people who are true believers in the new philosophy of healthy food and lifestyle. You will be able to talk to them about how difficult it is to establish such a shop in a small town, how the supply chain works and why they made a decision to come back to a town which most young people leave for the big city.

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

October 5

Horse farm “Petro-G” raises more than 200 horses of different breeds for mountain horseback riding and tourism. It is located above the village of Levochevo and very close to the ski resort Pamporovo. The company also owns more than 3000 sheep and cows that graze in the open air in different places in the Rhodopes mountains. Their production is milk and meat – ecologically clean, traditional for the Rhodopes area, with high nutritious and healing qualities. You will hear from the company owner who will tell you how he started his business, how he organizes the process, and what his challenges are, you will be able to ask all sorts of questions. Although it is not included in the Eco Camp package, any student who wishes could take a horseback riding lesson with an instructor at the farm, provided they pay the fee for it.

October 6

During the innovation camp, which will last 24 hours, you will be encouraged to use your skills in enterprising ways, ultimately increasing your employability and entrepreneurial flair. You will be divided into teams and each team will have both Bulgarian and Norwegian students. All teams will receive the same challenge and are supposed to solve it using only IT resources and the Internet. In a couple of hours, you have to come up with an innovative business solution to the challenge. You will have to use all techniques and strategies you have learned about in the workshops during the previous days. Volunteers from business with expertise in different fields will be there to help you in your work.

Eco Camp 2014 | Welcome Pack

October 7

Breakfast | Team presentations in front of jury | Participants pack their luggage (at the same time: jury deliberation session) | Lunch | Award ceremony | Departure for Sofia via Plovdiv (drop off some of the Bulgarian students there) | Arrival in Sofia (if necessary, some of the Bulgarian students can remain with the Norwegian group in the Hemus Hotel) | Dinner

October 8

Bus transfer of Norwegian group to Sofia Airport (4.30 am!)

JA Bulgaria team contacts

Vera Petkantchin Alina Topalova Project Coordinator Project assistant + 359 887 30 90 33 + 359 886 344 383 [email protected] [email protected]